Board Game Apparatus with Variable Game Surface and Method of Play

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for playing a board game which includes at least two distinguishable sets of playing pieces, each set being assigned to one player of the game, a game surface set by the players from assigned surface tiles, and dice, a pair being assigned to each player of the game. Players set up the game surface, and thereafter playing pieces, in an order determined by each player rolling a pair of dice. Setup is thereby varied each game to provide a new challenge. Players, in order, act by moving playing pieces, jumping over opposing playing pieces and removing them, and attacking opposing playing pieces. Winning an attack involves having the highest score on a roll of the dice and the winner&#39;s piece remains on the game surface. A player wins if they are the only one with pieces remaining on the game surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for playing a board game in which competing players, by means of skill and chance, move a plurality of playing pieces according to pre-set rules to remove opposing players' playing pieces from a game surface created by both players from strategically placed tiles.

Board games involving chance or strategy have long been popular among players of all ages. The excitement, challenge, and social interaction involved in playing and winning such games are a continual attraction, drawing family and friends together. Such board games often involve multiple players moving their respective pieces in various prescribed ways on a fixed game surface to achieve an ultimate goal, such as relocation of all of one's pieces to a remote part of the board. It is also common for such games to involve confrontations in which one player can move their pieces in such a way as to temporarily or permanently block or remove one or more of his opponent's pieces from the game. Such confrontations provide a competitive factor to such board games and enhancing social interaction between the players. Examples of such games include checkers, chess, and backgammon.

However, few of these board games utilize both skill and chance, allow for confrontations involving playing pieces, and have elements that make a particular game not only easy to learn but also continually entertaining and challenging after many hours of play. For example, in games like backgammon, while the game pieces can be involved in confrontations, the outcome is mostly determined by chance. As such, some experienced players can find such games become routine and uninteresting. Additionally, in games like chess, while the game pieces also can be involved in confrontations, the outcome is determined entirely by skill. Accordingly, the complex strategies necessary to succeed can frustrate and discourage inexperienced players. Furthermore, most of these games lack any substantially variable elements to keep players challenged and entertained. Therefore, many board games involving confrontations are difficult for people of various ages and experience levels to play together while remaining continually entertained and challenged.

Various attempts to provide variety for board games have been made to enhance the entertainment and challenge for players thereof. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,253 discloses a game board apparatus for playing a variant of the game of checkers. The game board is similar to a checkerboard, having alternating light and dark colored squares or alternatively, plain and textured squares. Unlike checkers, however, the two center rows of the game board are replaced by a channel adapted to receive two rows of vector tiles therein. The vector tiles alter the normal movement of playing pieces thereon. A piece landing on a vector tile is constrained to move only in the directions indicated by the particular directional indicia on the tile. At the start of each game, the vector tiles are removed from the channel and replaced in a different order thereby to vary the movement constraints for the next game.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,983,937 discloses a dynamic non-static game board which is formed at the beginning of each game by the players each placing tiles having playing spaces which may have side walls. The walls create a maze configuration through which pieces move. To win, one must move all of one's pieces, 1-5 depending on difficulty level, from one side of the board and off the opposite side. A random number selection means such as dice indicates the number of spaces to be moved. On some turns at least one visual indicator for a “stack” move and another for a “slide” move appear simultaneously with a number. A stack allows a player to stack a tile on top of an existing tile to alter the configuration of the maze. A slide allows a player to slide another tile into one end of one row, thus pushing an existing tile off the other end of the row and possibly altering the maze configuration. The strategy game may be programmed and displayed on a visual media such as a video game or on the World Wide Web. Each of the prior references mentioned above are hereby incorporated herein, in their entirety, by reference.

However, these earlier efforts suffer from one or more of the following disadvantages: they do not involve confrontation to enhance competition and social interaction, do not combine skill and chance in exact proportions necessary to appeal to a broad range of players, and do not include additional elements which provide variety keeping the game continually entertaining and challenging.

For these reasons, a need exists for a board game which involves skill and chance in proportions to provide appeal to a broad range of players, involves game piece confrontations to enhance competition and social interaction, and includes elements which are variable each game to provide continuous entertainment and challenge.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a board game that, in one or more aspects, involves skill and chance in proportions to provide appeal to a broad range of players, involves game piece confrontations to enhance competition and social interaction, and includes elements which are variable each game to provide continuous entertainment and challenge. Other advantages of one or more aspects will be apparent from the drawings and ensuing description.

In accordance with a first embodiment, a game apparatus is composed of two pairs of dice, two differently colored sets of playing pieces, and sixteen surface tiles. Each set of the playing pieces, in the first embodiment, includes six higher rank pieces (“gates”) and sixteen lower rank pieces (“stones”). Also, the surface tiles of the first embodiment include two types with a square matrix on each, a first set with eight tiles having four identical dots and a second set with eight tiles having three dots—two dots identical to those of the first set, a different color dot, and a blank space where a dot should be in the matrix.

Further, in accordance with a first method of playing the game, two players are each assigned a pair of dice, a set of the playing pieces (six gates and sixteen stones), four tiles from the first set, and four tiles from the second set. Both players, in accordance with the first method, roll their dice and determine a playing order where the higher score goes first. After rolling, each player then—in rotation based on the order—places a single tile on a flat surface, like a table, to make up the game surface.

However, in accordance with the first method, after the first tile is placed, each additional tile must be placed so that it shares an edge with another already placed tile and so that at least one of the dots on the additional tile is non-diagonally adjacent to a dot on an already placed tile. Also in accordance with the first method of play, a player placing a tile from the second set must also place one of their gates on the different color dot thereof. Placement of tiles and gates continues according to the repeating order until all assigned tiles are accordingly placed. Thereby, the pattern of any single game surface may be one of a plethora and each may provide a new and entertaining challenge each game.

In further accordance with the first method, after the game surface is made, each player—in rotation based on the order—places one of their assigned pieces on any empty dot until all assigned pieces are placed. Thereby, the playing piece setup, like the game surface, can be varied by the players to provide a new and entertaining challenge each game.

Also in accordance with the first method, after setup of the game surface and playing pieces is completed, each player—in rotation based on the order—may perform one of the following acts with one of their assigned pieces during their turn: moving, attacking, or jumping. A player may move a playing piece from a first dot to an adjacent empty non-diagonal second dot, when available during a turn. However, if an empty second dot is not adjacent, like when a blank space is between the dots, or is diagonal relative to the first dot, a player may not move their piece there. A player is also limited when moving the same piece between the same two dots to three of that particular player's consecutive turns. After three consecutive turns of the particular player, that particular player must perform a different act with any piece, move a different piece, or move the same piece to a different dot. Thereby, players are urged into confrontation and a perpetual stalemate may be avoided.

Further, a player—with one of their assigned pieces—may attack an opponent's playing piece on an adjacent non-diagonal dot during a turn. To attack, a player announces their intent to attack and identifies the attacking playing piece and the opponent's playing piece being attacked. The player and opponent then roll one or more of their dice to determine which playing piece “wins” the attack and gets to remain on the game surface. The number of dice rolled by each player is based on the rank of each playing piece assigned to each player. For example, a player—attacker or opponent—only rolls a single die if their assigned piece is a stone. However, a player—attacker or opponent—rolls a pair of dice if their assigned piece is a gate.

A player wins and their piece remains on the game surface if they have a higher total score on a roll of their dice. When both pieces are the same rank, any tie is resolved by re-rolling the dice until one player has a higher score. However, when both pieces are different ranks, i.e. stone and gate, the stone always wins a tie. While the piece that wins remains on the game surface, the other piece loses and is removed from the game surface. A player with a winning piece also has the option of leaving the winning piece in its original location or moving it to the adjacent dot previously occupied by the losing piece. Also, when the winning piece is a stone and the losing piece is a gate, the stone is promoted and replaced with a gate of the winning player if such a gate has been earlier removed from the game surface. If a gate assigned to a winning player has not been removed yet, then the stone cannot be promoted, even if it is the winning piece and the losing piece is a gate.

Additionally, a player may jump an assigned piece over one or more opponent's stones during a turn. To jump, a player moves their piece from a first dot to a second dot on the opposite side of an adjacent opponent's stone. The second dot must be adjacent to the opponent's stone and cannot be a blank space or be separated from the opponent's stone by a blank space or another piece. A player may also make additional successive jumps over additional stones of an opponent to additional empty dots opposite and adjacent the opponent's stone being jumped, during a single turn. Such successive jumps do not have to be in the same direction as any preceding jump during the turn. Any opponent's stones jumped over during a turn are removed from the game surface. Also, only stones—not gates—are allowed to be jumped over.

Lastly, in accordance with the first method, players perform the above acts in rotation based on the order until the game ends. The game ends when players are able to continually escape from each other or only the pieces of a single player remain on the game surface. If players are able to continually escape from each other, the game is a draw. However, if only the pieces of a single player remain on the game surface, that player is the winner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a board game apparatus including two sets of playing pieces of different colors disposed upon a game surface composed of tiles and two pair of dice;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of two sets of playing pieces of one embodiment of a board game apparatus, where each set is distinguishable by color and includes gates and stones;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of two tiles, each from a separate set of tiles of one embodiment of a board game apparatus where the tile from a first set has four dots and the tile from a second set has three, including a different color dot;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a game surface of one embodiment of a board game apparatus composed by placement of tiles from a first set and second set with gates placed on the different color dots of second set tiles;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the game surface of FIG. 4 with the remaining playing pieces of two players placed onto dots of the game surface;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of two select surface tiles from a game surface of an embodiment of a board game apparatus with an arrow demonstrating how a playing piece may move;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of two select surface tiles from a game surface of an embodiment of a board game apparatus with an arrow demonstrating how a playing piece may jump a playing piece of a different set;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of four select surface tiles from a game surface of an embodiment of a board game apparatus with arrows demonstrating how a playing piece may make multiple successive jumps over playing pieces of different sets during a single turn;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a single tile from one embodiment of a game apparatus where a stone of one set is attacking a gate of another set and the dice associated with each set have been rolled and show a tie;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the single tile of FIG. 9 where the losing gate has been removed and the remaining stone has been promoted by replacement with a gate of the same set:

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the single tile of FIG. 9 where the losing stone has been removed and the remaining stone has been promoted by combining the stone with an additional stone of the same set through stacking;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a single tile from an embodiment of the game apparatus where two stones of the same set are located on adjacent non-diagonal dots;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the single tile of FIG. 12 where the stones of the same set have been combined through stacking to form a built piece; and

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the single tile of FIG. 13 where the built piece has been broken apart into two stones of the same set with one remaining on the dot occupied by the previous built piece and another stone being located on an adjacent non-diagonal empty dot.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

10 Game Apparatus 12 Playing Pieces 14 Set of Playing Pieces 16 Gates 18 Stones 20 Game Surface 22 Surface Tiles 24 First Set 26 First Mark 28 Second Set 30 Second Mark 32 Blank Space 40 Dice 42 Dice Pair 50 Move Arrow 52 Jump Arrow 60 Attacking Piece 62 Opposing Piece 68 Promoted Piece 70 Built Piece

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, a new board game utilizing a game apparatus 10 and method of play embodying confrontation, variety, skill, and luck providing entertainment, challenge, and social interaction amongst many players, regardless of their experience level are herein described.

First Embodiment of the Game Apparatus

A first embodiment of the game apparatus 10, as illustrated in FIG. 1, has two differently colored sets 14 of playing pieces 12, sixteen total surface tiles 22 used to form a game surface 20 upon which the playing pieces 12 are arranged, and two pairs 42 of standard dice 40. In accordance with the first embodiment, each of the two playing piece sets 14 has six higher rank pieces, called gates 16, and sixteen lower rank pieces, called stones 18. As shown in FIG. 2, while the playing pieces 12 are all cylindrical shaped, the sets 14 are distinguished by color and the rank distinguished by size. In particular, as shown in FIG. 2, stones 18 are generally half the length of gates 16 in the first embodiment.

Also, in accord with the first embodiment, the sixteen surface tiles 22 include eight of a first set 24 having four marks and eight of a second set 28 having three marks. As shown in FIG. 3, tiles 22 of the first set 24 have four identical first marks 26 (specifically dots) in a square matrix arrangement. As also shown in FIG. 3, tiles 22 of the second set 28 have two first marks 26, a different color second mark 30 (also a dot), and a blank space 32 in a square matrix arrangement.

First Embodiment of the Game Method

In a first embodiment, a method of playing the present board game includes assigning each of two players half the elements of the first embodiment of the apparatus 10, described above, including a pair 42 of dice 40, a set of playing pieces 12 including six gates 16 and sixteen stones 18, four tiles 22 from the first set 24, and four tiles 22 from the second set 28, as shown in FIG. 1. Once the elements of the apparatus 10 have been assigned, both players roll their pair 42 of dice 40 and determine a playing order where the higher total score goes first. In the event of a tie, both players re-roll their dice 40 until one player has a higher score.

Game Surface and Playing Piece Setup

Upon establishing a playing order, the first player thereof places a single tile 22—either of the first set 24 or second set 28—on a flat plane, e.g. a table, floor, or the like, with the marks on the tile 22 showing. If the first tile 22 placed is of the second set 28, the first player then also places a gate 16 upon the second mark 30 of the tile 22. After the first tile is placed, the second player, and each player alternating thereafter, places an additional tile 22 on the plane to create the game surface 20. However, after the first tile is placed, each additional tile 22 must be placed so that it shares an edge with another already placed tile 22 and so that at least one of the marks—first mark 26 or second mark 30—on the additional tile 22 is non-diagonally adjacent at least one of the marks on an already placed tile 22. Additionally, if the additional tile 22 placed is of the second set 28, the player placing the tile then also places a gate 16 upon the second mark 30 thereof. Placement of tiles 22 and gates 16 by alternating players continues until all assigned tiles 22 are accordingly placed and the game surface 20 is created, as shown in FIG. 4. Upon creation of the game surface 20, each player, in rotation based the order, places one of their remaining assigned playing pieces 12 upon any empty mark—first mark 26 or second mark 30—until all assigned pieces 12 are placed, as shown in FIG. 5. Thereby, the playing piece 12 and game surface 20 setup can be varied and decided by the players to provide a new level of strategy and a new entertaining challenge each game.

Gameplay Acts

After setup of the game surface 20 and the playing pieces 12, each player—taking turns based on the order—may perform one of the following acts with one of their assigned pieces 12 during their turn: moving, attacking, or jumping.

Moving

As shown in FIG. 6, to move a player physically moves a playing piece 12 from a starting mark to a finishing mark that is adjacent, empty and non-diagonal, such as along the path of arrow 50. However, if the finishing mark is not adjacent—like when a blank space 32 is disposed between the starting and finishing mark—or is diagonal relative to the starting mark, a player cannot move their piece 12 to the finishing mark. A player is also limited when moving the same piece 12 between the same two marks to three of that particular player's consecutive turns. After three, that particular player must perform a different act with any piece 12, move a different piece 12, or move the same piece 12 to a different mark. Thereby, players can avoid a perpetual stalemate.

Attacking

In addition, to attack, the player—upon announcement of their intent to attack—must identify their attacking piece 60 and the adjacent non-diagonal opposing piece 62. After identification, the player and opponent then roll one or more of their dice 40 to determine which player “wins” and “loses” and whether the attacking piece 60 or opposing piece 62 remains on the game surface 20 while the other is removed (also called being “lost”), as in FIG. 9.

The number of dice 40 rolled by each player is based on the rank of each playing piece 12 assigned each player. Thereby, a player—attacker or opponent—only rolls a single die 40 if their assigned piece 12 is a stone 18. However, a player—attacker or opponent—rolls a pair 42 of dice 40 if their assigned piece 12 is a gate 16. A player wins and their piece 12 remains on the game surface 20 if they have a higher total score on a roll of their one or more die 40. When both pieces 60, 62 are the same rank, any tie is resolved by re-rolling the die 40 until one player has a higher score. However, when both pieces 60, 62 are different ranks, i.e. stone 18 and gate 16, the stone 18 wins a tie.

A player with a winning piece 12 has the option of leaving the winning piece 12 in its original location or moving it to the adjacent mark previously occupied by the lost piece 12. Further, when the winning piece 12 is a stone 18 and the losing piece 12 is a gate 16, the stone 18 is promoted and replaced with a previously lost gate 16 of the winning player, as in FIG. 10. Should the winning player have no previously lost gate 16, then the stone 18 cannot be promoted, even if it is the winning piece 12 and the losing piece 12 is a gate 16. Also, a promoted piece 68 is considered equivalent to a gate 16.

Jumping

As shown in FIG. 7, to jump a player moves an assigned piece 12 from a starting mark over an adjacent opponent's stone 18 to an empty landing mark on the opposite side of the opponent's stone 18 from the starting mark, such as along the path of arrow 52. The landing mark must not only be adjacent to the opponent's stone 18 but must also not be a blank space 32 or be separated from the opponent's stone 18 by a blank space 32 or another piece 12. During a single turn, a player may also make additional successive jumps over additional stones 18 of an opponent to additional empty marks opposite and adjacent each opponent's stone 18 being jumped, as by the path of arrows 52 in FIG. 8. As also seen in FIG. 8 and in the path of arrows 52, such successive jumps do not have to be in the same direction as any preceding jump during the turn. Any opponent's stones 18 jumped over during a turn are lost. i.e. removed from the game surface 20. Further, only stones 18, not gates 16, are allowed to be jumped over.

Game End

In accordance with the first method, players continue to perform the acts—moving, attacking, and jumping—in rotation based the order until the game ends. The game ends when players' pieces 12 are able to continually escape from each other or only the pieces 12 of a single player remain on the game surface 20. If the players' pieces 12 are able to continually escape from each other, the game is a draw. However, if only the pieces 12 of a single player remain on the game surface 20, that player is the winner.

Variations—Game Apparatus Playing Pieces

In an alternative embodiment, a game apparatus 10 includes more playing piece sets 14 than two, to accommodate additional players. Additionally, while color is used to distinguish the two sets 14 of playing pieces 12 in the first embodiment, it is foreseen that each set 14 of playing pieces 12 can be distinguishable in alternative ways, such as by shape, size, or identifiable markings. Similarly, while size, particularly the length of the cylinders, is used to distinguish between ranks of playing pieces 12, i.e. gates 16 and stones 18, in the first embodiment, it is foreseen that the rank of playing pieces 12 can be distinguishable in alternative ways, such as by being different shapes or sizes, or having different identifiable markings. In an additional embodiment, it is also foreseen that the playing pieces 12 can be any shape and size beyond the cylinders of the first embodiment. For example, in one embodiment, playing pieces 12 are cubed and have marking upon their surfaces identifying their rank, instead of or in addition to differing sizes.

In an additional embodiment, instead of each separate piece 12 having a single rank, like a gate 16 or stone 18 in the first embodiment, one or more of the playing pieces 12 in each set 14 can have characteristics identifying it as a piece of both higher and lower rank. For example, a disc shaped playing piece 12 can have both a marking identifying it higher rank piece on one side and a marking identifying a lower rank piece on another side, so the disc could be utilized as either a higher or lower rank piece depending on which side is showing.

Furthermore, playing pieces 12 can be made from one or more materials, including but not limited to, wood, plastic, metal, and glass. The material from which each playing piece 12 is made can also identify its set or rank, instead of or in addition to shapes, sizes, and markings. For example, a gate 16 can be made from metal while a stone 18 can be made from plastic or one set 14 of playing pieces 12 can be made of metal while another made of glass.

Surface Tiles

While the surface tiles 22 include a first set 24 with four identical first marks 26 in the first embodiment, in alternative embodiments, it is foreseen that tiles 22 of the first set 24 can include more than four first marks 26 or additional marks different than first marks 26. Likewise, in alternative embodiments, it is foreseen that tiles of the second set 28 can include more than three marks and can include more first marks 26, more second marks 30, and more blank spaces 32. In an additional embodiment, tiles of the second set 28 may include no second marks 30 at all. In a further additional embodiment, the game apparatus 10 can include additional sets of tiles 22—beyond the first set 24 and second set 28 of the first embodiment—with different numbers of marks and different patterns thereupon or no marks at all. Thereby, players of games involving additional tiles 22 or alternative tiles 22 would have further variety of possible game surfaces 20, providing new and entertaining challenges for players in each game.

In the first embodiment, the first marks 26 are dots and the second marks 30 are different color dots, as in FIG. 3. However, it is foreseen that marks on the tiles 22—including the first marks 26 and second marks 30—can be any shape including but not limited to a circle, square, or star, in alternative embodiments. In further embodiments, the marks on the tiles 22 can also include any color, pattern, or combination thereof, and can even be sized and shaped to match a surface of one or more playing pieces 12, as in FIGS. 1 and 4-5. Furthermore, marks can be disposed on tiles 22 by any suitable means, including—but not limited to—stickers, paint, inlays, or branding in several embodiments.

In an additional embodiment, tiles 22 can also include further characteristics to increase their utility. For example, tiles 22 can include additional markings relevant to other games, such as chess and checkers squares, on a side opposite the side with marks relevant to the instant board game. In further embodiments, tiles 22 can be made from one or more materials, including but not limited to, wood, plastic, metal, and glass. Further, tiles 22 can also, in several embodiments, include additional characteristics or elements which assist players in constructing the game surface 20, such as an attachment means for securing surface tiles 22 together. For example, one or more surface tiles 22 can have magnetic edges which attract and affix to edges of other surface tiles 22.

Dice

In an alternative embodiment, other, non-standard, dice 40 can be utilized, instead of the standard dice 40 of the first embodiment. For example, one or more of the dice 40 in a pair 42 utilized in the game apparatus 10 can be shaped or numbered in a non-standard way. In an additional embodiment, it is foreseen that the dice 40 may be replaced by other means for generating a random score or ranking to determine a playing order or who wins during an attack.

Variations—Method of Play Assignment of Elements of Game Apparatus

In an alternative embodiment, each player can be assigned different numbers of each set of surface tiles 22 than those specified in the first embodiment. For example, each player can be assigned four first set tiles 24 and three second set tiles 28 for a shorter game. Also, each player can be assigned different numbers of each rank of playing pieces 12 than those specified in the first embodiment. For example, each player can be assigned five gates 16 and eleven stones 18 for a shorter game.

It should be understood that the present game may be played digitally, for instance using software and a computer, phone, tablet, or any other digital device, and may be played by multiple people on a single device, multiple devices, or online. The software or digital version of the game may be played in the same way as the physical game described herein without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

Setup

In an alternative embodiment, it is foreseen that players, when placing a tile of the second set 28, may not be required to automatically place a gate 16 thereupon. In such an embodiment, a player may be able to place a gate 16 upon any mark, either at the time of placing a tile of the second set 28 or once the game surface 20 has been established.

Moving

In the first embodiment, any playing piece 12 can be moved, whether it be a gate 16 or stone 18, as long as the finishing mark the piece 12 is being moved to is empty, non-diagonal, and adjacent the starting mark. However, in an alternative embodiment, gates 16 can be required to remain stationary after being placed on a game surface 20, so only stones 18 can be moved.

Jumping

Similarly, in the first embodiment, only stones 18 can be jumped over and removed, while gates 16 cannot be jumped over and removed. However, in an alternative embodiment, any playing piece 12 of an opponent, including gates 16, can be jumped over and removed. Thereby, a gate 16 of an opponent can be jumped, as long as an empty landing mark is available adjacent the opponent's gate 16 and opposite the starting mark. In an additional embodiment, it is also foreseen that gate 16 can be proscribed from jumping over an opponent's piece 12. In a further embodiment, it is foreseen that all playing pieces 12, or those of a single set 14, may be temporarily or permanently proscribed from jumping during game play, thereby limiting the acts a player may perform during a game.

Attacking

In the first embodiment, a stone 18 winning an attack against a gate 16 is promoted by replacement of the stone 18 with a gate 16 of the same set 14—if such a gate 16 was removed from the game surface 20 earlier. However, in an additional embodiment, a stone 18 can also be promoted by combination with an additional stone 18, as shown in FIG. 11. Similarly, such a promoted piece 68 is also considered equivalent to a gate 16. In a further embodiment, it is foreseen that all playing pieces 12, or those of a single rank or set 14, may be temporarily or permanently proscribed from attacking during game play, thereby limiting the acts a player may perform during a game.

Building and Breaking

In an additional embodiment, the acts the player may perform with their assigned playing pieces 12 during turns can also include building and breaking a built gate 70, as shown in FIGS. 12-14. During a turn, to form a built gate 70 a player combines two of their adjacent assigned stones 18, like those of FIG. 12, to form a built gate 70, as in FIG. 13. Such a built gate 70 is considered equivalent to a regular gate 16. Additionally, a built gate 70—like that of FIG. 13—can also be broken back into two separate stones 18 during a turn. To break a built gate 70 a player separates one of the combined stones 18 thereof to an adjacent empty mark, as shown in FIG. 14. If an adjacent empty non-diagonal mark is not available, a built gate 70 cannot be broken.

Game End

In accordance with an alternative method, the game can also end at a specified time and, if no single player's assigned playing pieces 12 remain on the playing surface 20, the player with the most points based on their assigned pieces 12 remaining on the game surface 20 will win. For example, in one embodiment, the players may decide to play a half hour game and at the end of the time, if more than one player's assigned pieces 12 remain on the game surface 20: count the number of gates 16 and stones 18 assigned to each player on the game surface 20, determine a score for each player where each gate 16 is worth 2 points and each stone is worth 1 point, and decide the winner based on the player with the highest score.

The term “comprises” and grammatical equivalents thereof are used herein to mean that other components, ingredients, steps. etc. are optionally present. For example, an article “comprising” (or “which comprises”) components A. B, and C can consist of (i.e., contain only) components A, B. and C, or can contain not only components A, B, and C but also one or more other components.

Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with possible reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein. All features disclosed in this specification may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features. Further, it is not necessary for all embodiments of the invention to have all the advantages of the invention or fulfill all the purposes of the invention.

In the present description, the claims below, and in the accompanying drawings, reference is made to particular features of the invention. It is to be understood that the disclosure of the invention in this specification includes all possible combinations of such particular features. For example, where a particular feature is disclosed in the context of a claim, that feature can also be employed, to the extent possible, in aspects and embodiments of the invention, and in the invention generally.

Also, although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments but as merely providing illustrations of some of several embodiments. Thus the scope of the embodiments should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for playing a game, the method comprising the steps of: providing a game apparatus including sets of distinguishable playing pieces with gates and stones, surface tiles with marks disposed thereupon, and dice; assigning each player one of said sets of playing pieces, a number of surface tiles, and dice; forming a game surface from placement of said surface tiles in a pattern, wherein said pattern is established for each game by each player, in rotation, placing one of said surface tiles on flat surface; setting up an arrangement of said playing pieces, wherein said arrangement is established for each game by each player, in rotation, placing one of said playing pieces upon said marks of said surface tiles forming said game surface; playing by each respective player in rotation performing one of a number of acts selected from the group consisting of moving one of said playing pieces to an empty mark on said surface tiles, jumping over and removing at least one playing piece of another player with a playing piece of said respective player, and attacking another player's playing piece with a respective player's playing piece wherein one of said playing pieces of the respective player or another player loses and is removed from said game surface; and ending the game based on a condition, wherein said condition is selected from the group consisting of only a winning player's playing pieces remaining on said game surface, a draw where playing pieces of each player are able to continually move away from each other, and a winning player having a higher total score based upon prescribed values assigned each of said gates and stones at the end of a prescribed time period.
 2. The method for playing a game of claim 1, wherein said playing pieces of another player during a jumping act consist of said stones.
 3. The method for playing a game of claim 1, wherein jumping further comprises said playing piece of said respective player beginning each jump upon a mark adjacent each of said playing pieces jumped over and completing each jump upon a mark adjacent each of said playing pieces jumped over.
 4. The method for playing a game of claim 1, wherein said moving playing piece consists of a stone of said respective player.
 5. The method for playing a game of claim 1, wherein said losing playing piece is determined by each player rolling a number of said dice.
 6. The method for playing a game of claim 5, wherein said number of dice rolled by said respective and another player to determine said losing piece is based upon the rank of each of the playing pieces.
 7. The method for playing a game of claim 1, wherein said attacking act further comprises: determining whether said losing playing piece is a gate, whether the playing piece remaining upon said game surface is a stone, and whether any removed playing piece of said respective player is a gate; promoting said playing piece remaining upon said game surface to a gate based upon said losing playing piece being a gate, said playing piece remaining upon said game surface being a stone, and one of said removed playing pieces of said respective player being a gate.
 8. The method for playing a game of claim 1, wherein said surface tiles include those of a first set having four marks and second set having three marks.
 9. The method for playing a game of claim 8, wherein said number of said surface tiles assigned each player consists of four of said first set and four of said second set.
 10. The method for playing a game of claim 8, wherein said number of said surface tiles assigned each player consists of four of said first set and three of said second set.
 11. The method for playing a game of claim 1, wherein said sets of playing pieces each include five of said gates and eleven of said stones.
 12. The method for playing a game of claim 1, wherein said sets of playing pieces each include six of said gates and sixteen of said stones.
 13. A method for playing a game, the method comprising the steps of: providing a game apparatus including sets of distinguishable playing pieces with gates and stones, surface tiles with marks disposed thereupon, and dice; assigning each player one of said sets of playing pieces, a number of surface tiles, and dice; forming a game surface from placement of said surface tiles in a pattern, wherein said pattern is established for each game by each player, in rotation, placing one of said surface tiles on flat surface; setting up an arrangement of said playing pieces, wherein said arrangement is established for each game by each player, in rotation, placing one of said playing pieces upon said marks of said surface tiles forming said game surface; playing by each respective player in rotation performing one of a number of acts selected from the group consisting of moving one of said playing pieces to an empty mark on said surface tiles, jumping over and removing at least one playing piece of another player with a playing piece of said respective player, attacking another player's playing piece with a respective player's playing piece wherein as a result of the attack one of said playing pieces of the respective player or another player loses and is removed from said game surface, building a built gate by combining two adjacently located stones of said respective player, and breaking one of said built gates by separating one of said stones of said respective player onto an adjacent empty mark; and ending the game based on a condition, wherein said condition is selected from the group consisting of only a winning player's playing pieces remaining on said game surface, a draw where playing pieces of each player are able to continually move away from each other, and a winning player having a higher total score based upon prescribed values assigned each of said gates and stones at the end of a prescribed time period.
 14. A game apparatus comprising: at least two distinguishable sets of playing pieces including gates and stones; at least two sets of surface tiles with marks disposed in a square matrix thereupon for establishing a player created game surface and wherein said sets of surface tiles include those of a first set having four marks and those of a second set having three marks and a blank space; and at least two pairs of dice for determining which player initiates creating said game surface and which player's piece remains on said game surface during particular turns.
 15. The game apparatus of claim 14, further including a game surface comprised of said surface tiles placed so each of said surface tiles has at least one edge adjacent another of said surface tiles.
 16. The game apparatus of claim 15, wherein said surface tiles of said game surface are placed so at least one of said marks on each of said surface tiles is non-diagonally adjacent one of said marks on another one of said surface tiles.
 17. The game apparatus of claim 14, wherein said playing pieces are cylindrical shaped and said stones are generally half the length of said gates.
 18. The game apparatus of claim 14, wherein said marks on said surface tiles include a circular first mark circular of a first color and a circular second mark of a second color.
 19. The game apparatus of claim 18, wherein said first and second marks are generally the size and shape of an end of said playing pieces. 